title: What about non-alcoholic fatty liver disease as a new criterion to define metabolic syndrome?
abstract: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is currently not a component of the diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome (MetS); however, the development of NAFLD has some common mechanisms with the development of MetS, as they share the pathophysiologic basis of insulin resistance. It is also recognized that NAFLD is the hepatic manifestation of MetS. To define MetS, the presence of at least three of the proposed criteria is required, and sometimes it is sufficient to have only one laboratory value, modified by diet or drugs, for the classification of MetS. Ultrasonographically-detected NAFLD (US-NAFLD) is more stable, only changing during the middle- to long-term. Although controversies over MetS continue, and considering that abdominal ultrasonography for diagnosing NAFLD has high specificity and guidelines to modify the natural course of NAFLD by diet composition or lifestyle have not yet been established, why should we not introduce US-NAFLD as a new criterion to define MetS?
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University Medical School of Naples, 80131 Naples, Italy. tarantin@unina.it
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tarantino
authors.forename: Carmine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Finelli
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D014463:Ultrasonography
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers
keywords: Criteria; Metabolic syndrome; Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis; Ultrasonography